Who doesn’t love ramen? What a great product. It hits all the right spots: nostalgic, affordable, and tasty.
At first glance, Ramen Express looks like another attempt at refreshing an old product — repackaging for Millennials. We’ve seen this before. Warby Parker started it. Away was at the end of that era.
Vegetarian noodles with real flavors. My read: We’re everything you love about ramen, except healthier. Added bonus, there’s no dairy or MSG (not that there are issues with either, but for those who care). And, they are Kosher and Halal.
First, we want to understand their customer based on their positioning. Here’s are some things we can consider:
- Other ramen noodle brands
- Packaging style
- Price point
- Sales strategy
Even though many brands make instant noodles, they aren’t all widely distributed. Seems like their biggest competitors are Nissin, makers of Top Ramen and Cup Noodles, and Momofuku.
Everything about Ramen Express screams cup noodles. It’s not unless you search around their website that you see they offer pillow packs too.
They use Amazon for e-commerce. At $16-$18 for 12 cups, they are priced closely with Top Ramen in the grocery store ($0.99/pack). But, you can grab Cup Noodles from Instacart (and plenty of other vendors) for close to $0.50-$0.75. This makes Ramen Express a deluxe or luxury staple. Even though they aren’t trying to go up against Momofuku, they may be fighting a battle for attention with the same customer. Tricky.
This healthy ramen can be found on Amazon, Walmart, and some other online retailers. It’s not clear to me that you can find them on many local grocery store shelves. With one exception, their Instagram tells me they’ve landed at HEB which is cool! (Oh, and I guess, Aldi)
To figure out where to grow, let’s look at the challenges.
- Selling through Amazon has a lot of limitations. Their biggest competitor, Nissin, does this too. But, they are established players with accounts at almost every major grocery store in the US. Momofuku has an online store on top of their omnichannel strategy. This gives them more insight into their customers and better opportunities for nurturing and re-marketing. Plus, first party data!
- The brand is confusing. There is Ramen Express by Chef Woo, and Chef Woo. Both brands make the same thing with different flavors. It’s like brands created by consultants to target two separate audiences. Seems like their owner, Palmetto Foods, has dreams of cornering the ramen market.
- We’re in the era of holistic brand building, but Ramen Express feels creatively stagnate. Their social media isn’t consistent. The use of influencers and creators seems flat. It’s like they’re running the brand marketing playbook from 2018.
- The website is nice but not with the times. The first image of a real human is a guy chomping cup noodles with a virtual reality headset on. Lame. The use of color is great but the brand lacks a soul. Nissin’s website is crushing it.
Here’s what I’d do to start making waves…
Branding
Simplify. We don’t need two branded products for two different target markets. A better approach: pick who your core market. Is it former ramen lovers hoping for a healthier version? Or, is it ramen fanatics that want to make it at home? Is it a fast food option for young, busy professionals trying to climb the career and income ladder?
Once they pick a direction, they can speak to us more effectively. If they want us to switch, they’ll need to give us a reason.
Social Media
Most customers are have adapted to brands and how they sell to us. They can sniff out influencers and UGC creators selling us product. I’d get creative. What about people we don’t expect to eat ramen showing up on our feed slurping it down? I would still tap food and beverage creators, but I’d target health and wellness folks too. Nissin has gone after athletes. How can Ramen Express show up and surprise us? Give us the unexpected. Everybody from yoga influencers to college kids whipping up cheap hangover recipes in their dorms.
Omnichannel
The packaging is pretty good. They need to sit next to other ramen brands so they can be compared up close and personal. I’m willing to bet most people buy their ramen at the grocery store. It’s key to discovery and lowers the friction for a trial. Show people you taste as good or better as the original brands, while keeping the price low. I’d give it a shot.
Growth Ideas
This is where it gets fun. When you have a product that’s this cheap, you can do a lot of testing! Here are some experiments I’d run if I was their growth marketer:
- Free Taste Test: I’d set a budget and offer to mail anyone who signs up for our newsletter a free sample of their flavor choice. Product and shipping probably costs around $2/pack. For $5k, I could get the product in the hands of 2,500 prospects. I can follow this up with re-marketing through email. Not to mention, now I know their taste preferences! It would be great if we had our own online shop.
- Health and Wellness Partnerships: Is it possible to change the negative association ramen has with our health? Best way to test this would be with brands and creators that have authority in the health space. Can they generate sales and engagement?
- Host a Ramen Cooking Show: Put together a series of videos showcasing everybody from master chefs to home cooks preparing their favorite ramen recipes. Get a fun and engaging host that can add some comedy to the mix. It can run long form on Youtube for episodes with special guests. All of it can get chopped up for Instagram and Tiktok. Like Bon Appetit’s Test Kitchen meets HealthyJnkFood.
- Pop-Ups on the Cheap: Borrowing this idea from Feisty via Ashwinn. Feisty took a few hundred dollars and popped up with their dogs outside of a Whole Foods. Make it happen on a budget. It’s going to pay off!
- Go Niche: Create some content that speaks to a niche where you can win some unique and popular search terms. Like health and ramen. When people search is ramen healthy, you get our blog content explaining its nutritional value, easy recipes, and more. Is ramen bad for you gets 6600 searches per month!
Ramen is a delicious space with a few large players and low differentiation. To win, you need to be loved and sell volume. It’s a hard task that requires creativity and scrappiness. And, like Ramen Express, we can look at our brands and create a plan of attack. Use this break down to help think about your approach to brand and growth marketing.